A Brief History of Deathcare: From Sacred Rituals to Industrialized Death
Death has always been a part of life—but how we care for our dead has changed drastically over time. What was once sacred, communal, and embodied has, in many places, become commercial, outsourced, and hidden from view.
To reclaim more meaningful ways of engaging with death, we must first understand how we got here.
Let’s trace the journey of deathcare through history—from ancient rites to modern funeral homes—and explore how we might return to something more soulful.
Ancient Deathcare: Ritual, Reverence, and Community
For most of human history, death was a communal and ritualized event. Families and communities cared for their dead directly—washing, anointing, wrapping, and burying or burning bodies in alignment with spiritual and cultural beliefs (Choice Mutual, 2023).
Examples from History:
Ancient Egypt: Elaborate embalming and mummification were practiced to prepare the deceased for the afterlife, often involving religious rites lasting over 70 days (Sosebee Mortuary, 2023).
Indigenous practices: Many Native communities used ceremonial songs, storytelling, and natural elements like fire and earth to mark the death journey.
Medieval Europe: Christian communities conducted home vigils, shrouded the dead, and buried them in consecrated ground, often without coffins (Locke Funeral Services, 2023).
Death was not hidden. It was seen as a sacred threshold, a rite of passage, and something to be witnessed, tended, and honored.
The Rise of Professional Deathcare
The shift toward industrialized deathcare began in the 19th century, particularly in the United States and Europe.
Key Drivers of Change:
The American Civil War (1861–1865): Embalming gained popularity during this time so that soldiers’ bodies could be preserved and transported home for burial, which normalized the practice (Roper & Sons, 2023).
Urbanization and sanitation concerns: As populations moved to cities, families had less space and fewer resources to care for their dead at home. Cemeteries became more regulated, and deathcare shifted toward licensed professionals.
Victorian mourning culture: Elaborate rituals—mourning attire, death photography, and memorial jewelry—intertwined with a growing funeral industry (Remembering A Life, 2023).
This era marked the beginning of outsourcing deathcare, moving responsibility from family and community to professionals.
The Industrialization of Death in the 20th Century
By the mid-1900s, death had become highly medicalized and commercialized, especially in the West.
Features of Industrialized Deathcare:
Hospitals became the primary place of death, shifting away from home deaths.
Funeral directors assumed full control of after-death care, often with minimal family involvement.
Embalming became routine and was marketed as necessary for sanitation and viewing, despite no legal requirement in most states (Library of Congress, 2023).
Concrete vaults and synthetic caskets became common in cemeteries, prioritizing aesthetics and longevity over ecological impact (Green Burial Council, 2024).
The body became a product to be managed—cleaned, preserved, and presented. The result? Death became more distant, sterile, and silent.
The Cost of Outsourcing Death
While professional services can be valuable, they’ve also led to:
Emotional detachment: Families often feel removed from the process, which can hinder healthy grieving.
Cultural loss: Generations-old deathcare traditions have been forgotten or suppressed.
Financial burden: The average cost of a traditional funeral in the U.S. is now over $7,000 (National Funeral Directors Association, 2024).
Ecological harm: Embalming fluids, metal caskets, and concrete burial vaults have long-term environmental impacts (Green Burial Council, 2024).
Deathcare, once sacred and communal, became something we pay for and hand off to strangers.
The Modern Deathcare Revival
Today, a powerful movement is emerging to reclaim death as sacred and personal once again.
This includes:
Home funerals: Families wash, dress, and sit vigil with the deceased at home, often with guidance from a death doula or midwife (University of Vermont, 2023).
Green and natural burial: Bodies are returned to the earth without embalming or synthetic materials.
Death cafés and community education: People gather to talk about death openly and share stories, preparing for end-of-life with clarity.
Spiritual and ancestral practices: More people are reviving indigenous, pagan, and earth-based rituals in end-of-life ceremonies.
This shift empowers families to choose deathcare practices aligned with their values, beliefs, and the Earth.
Reclaiming the Sacred in Death
Understanding the history of deathcare shows us that today’s “normal” is a modern invention. For most of human existence, death was intimate, embodied, and spiritually meaningful.
By remembering the past and questioning industrial norms, we can walk forward with intention, reverence, and choice.
You don’t have to go back in time—but you can reclaim the wisdom of those who came before you.
References
1. Choice Mutual. (2023). The History of Funeral Rites and Rituals of the Ancient World.
2. Locke Funeral Services. (2023). Funeral Practices Through the Ages in America.
3. Roper & Sons Funeral Home. (2023). The Evolution of Morticians.
4. Library of Congress. (2023). Evolution of American Funerary Customs and Laws.
5. Remembering A Life. (2023). The Evolution of the 19th Century Funeral.
6. Sosebee Mortuary. (2023). The History of Funeral Traditions.
7. Green Burial Council. (2024). Welcome to Green Burial.
8. National Funeral Directors Association. (2024). 2023 Funeral Cost Statistics.
9. University of Vermont. (2023). Home Funerals and Green Burials Empower Individuals at End of Life.
10. McDougal Funeral Homes. (2023). The Evolution of Funeral Traditions Over Time.
